Part two of our "Five Points" podcast. Join us as we explore the "wicked" neighborhood's clean up, fall from grace, and eventual destruction. Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/boweryboys

#59 Five Points: Wicked Slum

Sep 19th, 2008 31m 40s

You've heard the legend of New York's most notorious neighborhood. Now come with us as we hit the streets of Five Points and dig up some of the nitty, gritty details of its birth, its first residents and its most scandalous pastimes.Support the

#56 Randall's Island and the 1936 Olympic Trials

Sep 19th, 2008 18m 24s

Small islands reveal fascinating secrets of New York's past, and Randall's and Ward's Islands are no exceptions. Find out how these former potter's fields are related to the most important Olympics-related event New York City has ever seen. The

#55 The Evolution of Central Park

Sep 19th, 2008 33m 38s

When last we left Central Park, it was the embodiment of Olmstead and Vaux's naturalistic Greensward Plan. So how did all those playgrounds, a swanky nightclub, a theater troupe and all those hippies get here?www.boweryboyspodcast.comSupport th

#54 The Creation of Central Park

Sep 19th, 2008 30m 4s

Come with us to the beginnings of New York's most popular and most ambitious park -- from the inkling of an idea to the arduous construction. Learn who got uprooted and find out who the park was REALLY intended for.Support the show: https://www

#50 Canal Street and Collect Pond

Sep 19th, 2008 26m 38s

We celebrate a year of New York City history podcasting by re-visiting the topic of our very first show.Downtown Civic Center used to have a big ole pond in the middle of it which provided drinking water for the island's first inhabitants.What

#395 Jefferson Market and the Women's House of Detention

Sep 2nd, 2022 1h 20m

In the heart of Greenwich Village sits the Jefferson Market Library, a branch of the New York Public Library, and a beautiful garden which offers a relaxing respite from the busy neighborhood.But a prison once rose from this very spot -- more t

#89 Chelsea Hotel

Aug 14th, 2009 38m 24s

Arguably New York's least conventional hotel, the Chelsea Hotel (or rather, the Hotel Chelsea) is the one of New York's counter-culture centers, a glamorous, art-filled Tower of Babel for both creativity and debauchery. From Mark Twain to Andy

#75 Williamsburg(h), Brooklyn

Jan 30th, 2009 18m 17s

Williamsburg used to have an H at the end of its name, not to mention dozens of major industries that once made it the tenth wealthiest place in the world. How did Williamsburgh become a haven for New York's most well-known factories and how di

#68 New York City Marathon

Oct 31st, 2008 30m 16s

A true five-borough episode! The New York City Marathon hosts thousands of runners from all over the world, the dream project of the New York Road Runners and in particular one Fred Lebow, an employee of the Fashion District turned athletic ico

#18 Ghost Stories of New York City

Oct 16th, 2008 27m 57s

A city this size certainly has its share of ghosts, and the Bowery Boys spend the spooky season with some of the most famous -- a suicide showgirl, a grumpy landowner, a womanizer theater owner and a rich spinster.Support the show: https://www.

#13 Coney Island: 20th Century Sideshow

Oct 9th, 2008 27m 28s

Come see the Wonder Wheel, the king of hot dogs, the "Freaks" in the Dreamland Sideshow, a beached whale and Donald Trump's dad -- all in one place! It's Coney Island in the 20th Century. But will it be around much longer in the 21st? Support t

#64 Green-Wood Cemetery

Oct 3rd, 2008 16m 1s

Green-Wood Cemetery is one of New York's oldest burial grounds, but its development reaches back all the way to the beginning of Brooklyn's surprising history -- in fact, to the founder of Brooklyn Heights. Find out why it took an inventive ci

#61 The Pan Am Building

Sep 19th, 2008 30m 33s

Today it's the Met Life Building. It's been called the ugliest building in New York City. It sits like a monolith behind one of the city's most enduring icons Grand Central Terminal. But it's got some secrets you may not know about. In this pod

#57 Carnegie Hall

Sep 19th, 2008 31m 2s

How do you get to Carnegie Hall? Well, we can at least show you the way through its tumultuous history, from a fortunate meeting on a Norwegian cruise ship, past a symphonic rivalry, and into the 20th Century with some of the biggest names in c

#53 The Meatpacking District: Glamour and Gore

Sep 19th, 2008 15m 27s

How did the land surrounding an old 19th century fortress develop into the city's mainline distributor for produce and meat? And how did that once bustling place transform itself from the dilapidated home of leather bars and prostitutes to a ho

#52 DeWitt Clinton and the Erie Canal

Sep 19th, 2008 32m 23s

Meet former mayor, governor, senator and privileged son DeWitt Clinton, one of New York's most successful politicians and champion of the Erie Canal. Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/boweryboys

#51 McSorley's Old Ale House

Sep 19th, 2008 14m 15s

Grab yourself a couple mugs of dark ale and learn about the history of one of New York City's oldest bars, serving everyone from Abraham Lincoln to John Lennon --- and eventually even women! Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/boweryboys

#11 The Chrysler Building

Oct 6th, 2008 21m 31s

Ah, the classic Chrysler Building! She's got style, glamour and all that jazz. But what magical surprise did she spring on New York in October of 1929? Join us as we tell the story of New York's most beautiful art deco treasure. Support the sho

#63 New York Stock Exchange

1 Sep 26th, 2008 37m 42s

We tackle the New York Stock Exchange in this episode, beginning with Alexander Hamilton, some pushy auctioneers, a coffee house and a sycamore tree. And find how this seminal financial institution ended up in its latest home -- that beautiful,

#62 Shea Stadium

1 Sep 19th, 2008 15m 43s

The Mets are movin' out to Citi Field, but we can't overlook the great stories contained in their own home, Shea Stadium, a Robert Moses project took years to get off the ground. Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/boweryboys

#431 Park Avenue: History with a Penthouse View

14 days ago 1h 24m

The story of a filthy and dangerous train ditch that became one of the swankiest addresses in the world -- Park Avenue. For over 100 years, a Park Avenue address meant wealth, glamour and the high life. The Fred Astaire version of the Irving Be

#430 The Story of Flushing: Queens History, Old and New

28 days ago 1h 35m

Few areas of the United States have as endured as long as Flushing, Queens, a neighborhood with almost over 375 years of history and an evolving cultural landscape that includes Quakers, trees, Hollywood films, world fairs, and new Asian immigr

#429 The Moores: A Black Family in 1860s New York

Mar 29th, 2024 1h 11m

In today’s episode, Tom visits the Tenement Museum on the Lower East Side to walk through the reconstructed two-room apartment of an African-American couple, Joseph and Rachel Moore, who lived in 1870 on Laurens Street in today’s Soho neighborh

The Age of Innocence: Inside Edith Wharton's Classic Novel

Mar 22nd, 2024 54m 21s

Edith Wharton’s Age of Innocence is a perfect novel to read in the spring — maybe its all the flowers — so I finally picked it up to re-read, in part due to this excellent episode from the Gilded Gentleman which we are presenting to you this we